Shaggy

+1 Generally cited as the first "speed metal" song I think, before Motorhead and their ilk...

Plastic wood filler, from any DIY store

Many possible choices,, but a favourite of mine since the LP first came out is the Herbie Hancock keys solo on Simple Minds "Hunter and the Hunted" (album: New Gold Dream). As with all great solos; a beautiful use of space.

I guess the obvious names have been covered (no Chris Squire?), so I'll just mention - Gaye Advert: cool but probably not very inspirational Barry Adamson: cool and highly inspirational

I seem to have already acquired most of the basses I lusted after in my formative bass playing years, but wouldn't say no to: 1960's Rickenbacker 4005 semi in Fireglo 1970's Gibson Les Paul Triumph in white Alembic 4-string Mark King in either flame koa or buckeye burl - I'm not fussy which.....

Best 'Ray alternative I've tried is the Warwick FNA (Corvette body shape but same essential layout), not least as it has the very decent Seymour Duncan MM pickup and circuit as standard, which were intended as upgrades for the 'Ray. Liked mine so much I bought an LX Streamer Jazzman (and replaced the MEC pickups with Nordstrand / Bart). Used to have an OLP "Tony Levin" and was very underwhelmed by it.

Another vote for the Thumb. Plus my BC penny's worth.....most aggressive bass I've ever tried would be a Travis Bean TB2000

I think Gibson introduced the routine use of volutes on the headstock/ neck join from about 1973 onwards in a deliberate effort to strengthen that area (most of their guitars & basses switched to use of maple for necks at the same time), but have to say I'm not sure about the Thunderbird range, which of course being neck-thru design stayed with laminated mahogany necks. They did reduce headstock size though, to reduce risk of damage. Those bicentennial 'birds are lovely and getting rare now; you should have kept yours! I have a 1965 Thunderbird IV, almost inevitably with the neck repair, and despite its flaws - to me it has just about the perfect tone

Yes, Gibson used Schaller made hardware (with Gibson logos) on the Explorer, although the bridge was a chunkier affair than the 3D. Pickups were the same excellent single coil units as used on the Grabber. The necks were maple so much less prone to snapping than the earlier mahogany-necked basses and guitars that gave Gibson their deserved "fragile headstock" reputation, but I'm with alyctes on this - it's a very poorly thought out mod. I used to have a Ferrari red '85 Explorer bass, one of the few basses I really regret moving on.....

Local hero was good, but soundtrack to "Cal" was perfection.......

As I recall, Bob Dylan booked DS as his support act after hearing their debut album, so he must have liked it too. l've always preferred early DS to the later more commercial stuff - "Making movies" my favourite album. The late '70's seems to mainly rembered for punk, but the British music scene was an amazing melting pot at that time - punk, emerging new wave, pub rock, funk, disco, "new" heavy metal, and many of the old rockers (Stones etc) still doing their stuff.

To paraphrase Mick "Crocodile" Dundee: "That's not a circuit board.......THIS is a circuit board...." (late '70's Moog wackiness in a Gibson RD Artist below) Back on OP - have to say I've never tried a Pro IIe, although my '82 MK 1 Custom is so early it has a PB serial number. Just curious; what's the difference in tone / playbility between the 2 models?

Lovely Paul Weller-esque Ric 330 there, you can't beat a Ric semi in the cool stakes. I used to have a jetglo Ric 360/12 - it was a bit of a one-trick pony, but stuck through the Voc AC30 I had at the time; boy what a tone......... Traded for a '73 4001

Some fabulous skinny-stringers on this thread........ As with basses, I'm a sucker for a vintage Gibson; my 1972 LP Custom and 1974 SG Standard pictured below (guess which one is literally around a quarter of the weight of the other......). Also an oddball semi - an early '60's Broadway (I think) with dual Fenton-Weil pickups, found in a poor state in a junk shop and restored by me a few years back. Until recently I had a 1954 ES-175, but traded it with a great BC-er against a Wal MK 1. However, my pride and joy are my two late '60's / early '70's MG Contreras flamenco guitars, which I play more even than my basses - the one on the right was my Dads and I'll keep it until the day I can no longer play, and then pass onto my eldest son (who's also in a band, and a way better guitarist than me).

A thing of beauty........enjoy

They're absolutely fantastic; as good as LED's (which I've had) but a bit more understated, and no batteries or wiring . You can get the little UV torches that charge them up in seconds for a fiver or so on eBay, but your bass being a posh one will probably come supplied with its own!

Just to add to the apparent concencus - wenge. I've used every usual neck wood there is, plus carbon and aluminium; and the wenge neck (wax finish) on my Warwick Streamer has the nicest feel of any of them. The other benefit is I fitted 3mm "blue" luminlay dots on the side as the old eyes are going a bit, and they really stand out in any lighting conditions against the dark wood (which they would on a rosewood board too I know, but being larger than standard side dots they overlap into the neck).

Liking the little thumb-rest!

A mate of mine living in New Zealand came over last year to build his own super-Strat guitar at Crinson guitars - he couldn't speak highly enough of Ben and the folks there. Not cheap for the 2 week course plus hotel mind........

This often gets cited in "worst headstock", but to me it's perfectly functional, minimalist, and sculptural

Bought a set of La Bella strings from this most excellent Basschatter; smooth easy deal, great communications, and the strings sent across to me pronto. Deal with in complete confidence. Thanks fella!